On the eve of the International Ski Federation’s Ski Jumping World Cup tour opener, the U.S. Ski Team has named three women to its 2014-15 team. The women’s tour opens this weekend on the Olympic jumps in Lillehammer, Norway.

America’s top ski jumpers and nordic combined athletes will compete in the U.S. Ski Jumping Championships (normal hill) and U.S. Nordic Combined Championships during the Flaming Leaves Festival in Lake Placid on Sunday, October 12.

Jessica Jerome jumped into the top five Saturday, taking advantage of the second large hill competition of the year and making a statement at the final World Cup of the 2014 season in Planica, Slovenia.

Bryan Fletcher, seen here jumping at the 2014 Sochi Olympic Winter Games, was not able to jump Sunday after strong wind gusts forced officials to cancel the final nordic combined World Cup of the season along with a women’s ski jumping competition.

Jessica Jerome, seen here competing at the 2014 Sochi Olympic Winter Games, jumped into eighth during the women’s normal hill competition Saturday at the site of the 2015 Falun FIS Nordic World Ski Championships.

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A Park City transplant from Florida, Jessica Jerome wasted little time moving from sand to snow. Just two years after skiing for the first time, Jerome was on jump skis, and at 14 she was a Junior Olympic Champion. Since then, Jerome has emerged along the leading edge of the growing women’s ski jumping discipline.

Jerome finished ninth in the 2013 overall World Cup standings, scoring in nearly every event she took part in. She was also part of the U.S. World Ski Championships team that finished sixth in Val di Fiemme, Italy.

The now Utah-native Jerome has won six career U.S. titles and bagged 20 Continental Cup podiums, including her first win in 2010 at Rovaniemi, Finland. She also earned her first World Cup podium in 2012 with a third-place finish.

Part of a talented U.S. squad, Jerome sees 2014 and Sochi as an opportunity to make history and cap a successful competitive career.

JESSICA SAYSThis past season was a huge success as a team. We won the Nations Cup by a long shot, and, along with Sarah's [Hendrickson] overall win, we had three girls in the top 10. We have shown the world that we are strong as individuals and even stronger as a team. I am excited to keep the momentum going. Hopefully we will bring many more crystal globes home!

FIRST TRACKSLike many of the top U.S. ski jumpers, Jerome is a product of the 2002 Olympic legacy. She learned about jumping when a local nordic club visited her elementary school. She eventually talked her parents into letting her join the Park City Nordic Ski Club. "They came to my elementary school and talked about their program to us during second grade, so I told my mom I wanted to sign up, but my parents thought it was too dangerous and didn't take it seriously," says Jerome. She finally bugged them enough to get involved with the afterschool program and she kept making strides from there.

OFF THE SNOWJerome is currently finishing an economics degree at Westminster College, fitting school work into her training schedule as often as she can. In her spare time she likes to participate in various outdoor activities as well as travel to sandy beaches.